Sept. 8-14 in Cervia: from the opening ceremony, to game matches, to the closing party. All the details about the week of inclusive sports! – FOLLOW ALL THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE
The countdown begins for the first edition of the Transplant World Football Cup. As many as 300 people are expected in Cervia, Romagna, including athletes (all heart, lung, liver, bone marrow, cornea or kidney transplant recipients), accompanying persons, coaches and volunteers.
Not only soccer, then, but also a lot of sociability in an effort to promote the gift of life. The “starting whistle” for the week of inclusive sports will be sounded on Sunday, September 8, at the Cervia Sports Hall for the grand opening ceremony.
The Transplant Football World Cup
More than 300 people including coaches and athletes, more than 180 transplanted football players, 2 sports fields involved and dozens of volunteers including medical staff: from September 8 to 14, AiCS will host the first edition of the Transplant Football World Cup in Cervia, Italy.
The event, promoted by the World Transplant Games Federation with AiCS – the Italian Sport Culture Association, among the country’s top sports promotion organizations – and the Minister of Sport (with the contribution of the Sports Department and the Italian Paralympic Committee), is organized in collaboration with ANED, the National Association of Hemodialysis Dialysis and Transplantation. It enjoys the patronage of: Emilia Romagna Region, Municipality of Cervia, CRT – ER Transplant Reference Center Emilia Romagna, and DIMEC – Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna. Media partners: Radio Bruno and Corriere Romagna; with support from Beyfin.
For forty-five years, the World Transplant Games Federation has been working to improve the lives of transplant recipients around the world by encouraging participation in Olympic-style events and drawing attention to the success of this miraculous medical therapy, transplantation precisely, which enables seriously ill people to regain their health and prosperity through the miracle of organ donation.
Continuing WTGF’s mission, the Federation’s Board of Directors approved the establishment of a major new initiative-the World Cup of Transplant Football-to provide a new and exciting international event for transplant soccer. Modeled after the FIFA World Cup, the competition will see teams from Federation member countries compete in a World Cup format to crown an International Champion.
The soccer tournament
So it is a 7-a-side soccer tournament: teams will consist of heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, and bone marrow transplant recipients; men and women of all ages. As in the FIFA World Cup, teams will compete in a preliminary round and the best will qualify for a semifinal and knockout final. Matches will be played according to FIFA rules for 7-man teams, with some modifications to safeguard the athletes’ transplanted organs. Teams will consist of a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 16 players.
The Italian team, which wears the ANED colors, is made up of 16 players, aged 16 to 60, all of them kidney and bone marrow transplant recipients mostly from all over Italy. It is coached by coach Antony Tortomasi.
Not just sports
It will be played from September 9 to 13, both morning and afternoon, at the “Brian Filipi” sports field in Pinarella di Cervia: 5 rounds, semifinals will be played on Thursday, finals on Friday. In the rest of the week, space for social moments: from the opening ceremony (Sunday 8 at 9 p.m. in the Palazzetto dello Sport, free admission), to the medical conference scheduled for Wednesday 11 at 4:30 p.m. at the Palacongressi di Milano Marittima.
The opening ceremony
Celebration at 9 p.m. with a grand parade of delegations, highlighting the various participants from around the world. This will be followed by official speeches by the authorities, lending a touch of formality and significance to the occasion. The evening will then move onto a captivating show, featuring the BOSS of freestyle soccer, Antonio Colella. To finish, a welcome drink will be served, a perfect opportunity for guests to celebrate the start of this extraordinary event.
The social moments will not end with the opening ceremony. For the afternoon of Wednesday, September 11, 2024, a public conference is scheduled to address the topic of transplantation as a global right. The event will take place at the Palacongressi di Milano Marittima, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. (HERE’S THE DETAILED PROGRAM) and will feature many distinguished guests, professionals, patients and testimonials who will share their successes and hopes in the field of organ transplantation.
The conference will highlight the essential role of sports as an indispensable therapy for both people and transplanted organs. It will include a lecture by Sofie Leunis, a researcher at the University Hospitals of Leuven (BE), entitled “The Strength of Muscle Strength” The lecture will be held at the Congress Palace, located 3.8 km from the hotel, a distance covered in 10 minutes by our shuttle buses. Continuous shuttle service will start from the hotel at 3:30 pm and English-Italian simultaneous translation will be available.
The closing ceremony
The week of sports and life will then end with the gala dinner will be held on Friday, September 13, starting at 8:30 p.m., at Club Hotel Cervia Village, where a dedicated room will be transformed to celebrate athletes, coaches, officials and organizers in an atmosphere of elegance and prestige. Music will accompany the dinner, and at the end of the evening, the champions of the first Transplant Football World Cup will be called upon to receive their awards: there will be participation medals for all and special recognition will be given, including the coveted WTGF Trophy.
Awards will also be given to the top scorer, best player, best goalkeeper and the team that demonstrated the highest level of fair play. In addition, gold, silver and bronze medals will be presented to the top teams to highlight their outstanding achievements in this historic event.
The numbers and nations featured
Eleven nations are competing: Australia, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Italy, Romania, Spain, USA, and Wales. A total of 277 soccer players and accompanying coaches, 40 volunteers and organizers, and 4 doctors per day are registered, who will take turns on the fields and in the social venues, for the total safety of the participants.
All participants will be welcomed at the Club Hotel Cervia Village: reception and transportation provided by Adria Sport.